


Half-Existence

by jannah (fromjannah)



Category: Magisterium Series - Holly Black & Cassandra Clare
Genre: Canon Compliant, Gen, Slice of Life, and aaron being straightn't bc you know it's true, and i'm angry about it, apologies for spelling errors i'm jared 19, cc and hb did barely any worldbuilding so i did some myself, dubious soul shenanigans, rated teen because i let aaron swear, tgt did aaron so dirty, tgt did everyone dirty, vague allusions to romance
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-01-10
Updated: 2021-01-10
Packaged: 2021-03-14 11:14:30
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,554
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28669806
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/fromjannah/pseuds/jannah
Summary: Twenty-four hours a day, seven days a week, three-hundred-sixty-five days a year, Aaron gets to be awake. Well. He wasn't quite sure about the three-hundred-sixty-five days a year bit, as he hadn't been around like this that long. But from the schedule of things, it looked like that would be how things would be going.Aaron was bored as hell, to say the least.or,it always irked me how, during the golden tower, aaron knew that he could control call's body, so this is a little thing exploring how he would've figured that out.
Relationships: Aaron Stewart & Master Rufus, Callum Hunt & Aaron Stewart
Comments: 2
Kudos: 25





	Half-Existence

**Author's Note:**

> hello! welcome to my first magisterium fanfic in ages. it's been years. but i'm still thinking about this stupid series so here i am. this is all canon compliant, and it takes place during the golden tower -- somewhere after the time all of the kids went to the library but before alex showed up, i think. it's been some time since i read the book. enjoy!

Call sleeps. Of course Call sleeps. Call sleeps because he is a person with a body and people with bodies need sleep.

Aaron is, like, half a person. Maybe a quarter. Third? To say that he has a body would be a very cruel exaggeration. Point: Aaron does not sleep.

Twenty-four hours a day, seven days a week, three-hundred-sixty-five days a year, Aaron gets to be awake. Well. He wasn't quite sure about the three-hundred-sixty-five days a year bit, as he hadn't been around like this that long. But from the schedule of things, it looked like that would be how things would be going.

Aaron was bored as hell, to say the least. At least when Call was awake, mildly interesting things happened. Like cave lizard investigations (fun!), hanging out with Jasper and Gwenda at the library (a little annoying at times but still pretty fun!), figuring out Call's love life (not that fun!), and all that stuff. When Call was awake, Aaron could be helpful. Or sometimes he could just sit back and absorb conversation, which made him feel almost-alive. This existence was more full than... whatever had happened when Call had resurrected him. But the nights? The nights sucked, man.

Call was asleep, but Aaron was awake, because Call was a person and Aaron was, like, a fifth of a person. What even counted as a person? He was a soul, sure, and that was the whole life force, like Alma from the Order of Disorder had said. Souls made a person a person. But how much did they make up a person?

Aaron did a soul-groan, just quiet enough not to disrupt whatever Call's subconscious was dreaming up. This was why the nights were so bad. Too much thinking.

He thought briefly back to the conversation in the library -- telling Call that he needed a body, the weird Feeling from the thought of Master Joseph (which was a whole 'nother thought spiral, no thanks!), how much he just wanted to be there, telling funny stories with Jasper to Gwenda.

He just... missed being alive, damn it. Both of the times he had come back, he had this weird half-existence (third-existence? quarter?) and it was just. Not The Vibe. Yes, Aaron was grateful to Call. Extremely. He just wanted to go somewhere, do something.

This was when Call's body moved upright.

Aaron stifled a soul-scream in confusion, but wait -- Call's whole subconscious and stuff were still asleep? What was up with that?

Call's eyes had opened, as well; Aaron could see his friend's dark dorm room and his flannel pyjamas and all that, but Call's was still in the back, dreaming of something that felt vaguely Tamara associated that Aaron probably didn't want to know about (if the little, tiny, itty-bitty prickle jealousy he felt was anything to listen to, definitely not). It was like... like that time they were all going on that road-trip to Maine to save Call's dad. Call had been driving, but now he was asleep, and Aaron was in the driver's seat. It was like that time they made robots over summer break, before Bronze Year, and now... now Aaron had a flesh-suit robot.

"Holy shit," Aaron said to himself, and then heard it being uttered from Call's lips.

His first impression was excitement, and then guilt, and then ping-ponged right back to giddy glee. Oh, god, he shouldn't. He really shouldn't...

Aaron-controlling-Call's-body turned and slowly got off the bed, taking away the covers. He briefly considered jumping up and down in excitement (he could do that now!) but decided against it. Everyone was asleep, or should've been.

But he couldn't just stay here...

As quietly as he could, Aaron took one of Call's thick jackets (the weather was beginning to turn) and the school-given boots, slowly creeping out of the bedroom and into the common one. No one else was around -- ugh, but he'd have to see Jasper exercising shirtless again in the morning (not that Aaron thought about Jasper shirtless! Or Call shirtless. Or anyone shirtless. Nope nope nope).

It was all okay so far -- though Call's bad leg was dragging a little, taking some time to wake up, Aaron guessed? He suddenly felt a pang of regret if he had ever tried to ever push Call during walks and stuff, but then again, he knew that Call just wanted to be treated as normally as he could, which Aaron definitely tried to do. It was just something he had never experienced until now, or something like that.

He exited the dorm and slunk around the corner, hoping he wouldn't run into anyone -- like Celia, she had really been annoying Call lately which was pissing Aaron off a lot but whatever -- going forward without any real direction. He was just kind of soaking it in. All of the feelings of whatever was impacting the body was all kind of subdued for him right now, like he was wearing gloves on his hands so everything felt kind of clunky, but it was definitely something! So much more than everything else.

He decided on going to the rivers. He'd stick his (Call's?) hand in the water, look at the pretty lights for a little bit, go back. It wasn't much but the idea of something so small was still exhilarating. Going slow was probably a good idea.

He finally made it to the river without anyone running into him. In the dimness of the halls, darkened down for the night, the river was glowing and bright, lavender-blueish with a fuzzy layer of some kind of lights sticking up over the surface.

Aaron (Call?) crouched down at the edge of the river, wincing as the bad leg nearly gave out, straightening back up and trying to sit and lean over instead. It worked better, and he reached over the water, brushing a hand over the light and down into the water. He could feel the dullest sensation of the cold, wet water and then there! a fish nipping at his (Call's?) fingers. He couldn't help it; he laughed quietly in delight, staring up into the lights.

"Callum?"

Aaron stopped in his tracks, retracting his (Call's?) hand quickly and wiping it across the flannel pants, staring wide-eyed across the river to where Master Rufus was peering at him curiously. "Uh," he (Call?) said, which fortunately was something Call would do, so it didn't seem too out of place.

Master Rufus moved a hand to the side of the river, the water level shifting so he could walk across. There was clear concern on his face. Aaron, panic-ridden, considered if he had been found out before realizing that Call being out on the riverbank in the middle of the night just looked weird. He blinked at Rufus, who was now by his side, the shimmery lights highlighting his sharp jaw. There was a weird note of elation in him at seeing his old mentor -- god, he just missed people and talking to them, didn't he?

"Are you... alright?" queried the teacher.

Aaron (Call?) tried to get up, nearly falling, having to grip instinctively onto Rufus' arm to steady himself, who raised his eyebrows in brief surprise before masking it. "Uh. Yeah, I'm fine. I just... couldn't sleep. Been busy lately. Lot of... thinking. In my head."

It had clearly been a while since Aaron had to appease a teacher himself. Rufus didn't look particularly convinced. "Is that so," he remarked, scrubbing a hand across rounded head in consideration. "Didn't I tell you to rest?"

Aaron (Call?) nodded shallowly, lowering his head. "Yeah. Yeah, I'll get going. Um, sorry. it won't happen again," he (Call?) said, the words stumbling over themselves, jerking a hand over in the direction of the dorms and beginning to go that way. As much as he did want to talk, catch up, be with someone, he knew he couldn't risk it.

"Call, wait," Rufus said, clearing his throat. Aaron (Call?) stopped in his tracks, bewildered. "I... if you've been having nightmares or... if you'd like to speak to someone, I'm here. The soul you have... it's a very heavy one. I understand if you have a lot on your mind."

A heavy soul. That was a good way to put it, Aaron agreed. He felt that pinball inside of him bounce back to guilt; maybe Call should've actually heard this. But. Well. It wasn't Call here, it was Aaron.

"Okay. Thank you, Master Rufus," said Aaron quickly, smiling in an instinctive, grateful way, going back. It was a strange experience for sure, but... it had been good.

Even considering doing it again was definitely a very bad idea, but Aaron wondered if he could eat like this. Maybe he'd try to go to the Gallery soon.

\---

Rufus sighed to himself, straightening his robes and making his way back to his room; he had some papers to grade, and then had to phone up his husband before going to bed (don't tell anyone, but he had spelled a phone so it worked underground). He couldn't help but thinking back to Callum -- something about him had been off. Maybe it had been a trick of river's bioluminescence or just because of the lack of proper lighting, but Rufus could've sworn that Call's eyes had looked almost green.

**Author's Note:**

> thank you for reading!! comments are appreciated <3


End file.
